With the ever-increasing use of motor vehicles in the transaction of business, business people frequently find themselves in situations where business is conducted from their vehicle. This situation is being rapidly magnified by a plethora of new electronic business products that are intended for vehicular use. Most notable among these is the cellular telephone. Indeed, it has been common practice among business people at all levels to avail themselves of business-related activities during commuting.
Those persons that practice heir business from the automobile have long had the problem of storing and easily retrieving office implements such as ordering books, displays, advertising literature, forms and other stationery supplies that are used on a daily basis. This problem is further compounded by sales persons that must service a large number of accounts.
With the proliferation of vehicle-related business activity, it has become increasingly necessary to have readily available those documents and other items which must be consulted in the course of vehicular transacted business. Clearly, relying upon one's briefcase is not the solution because the demands of driving are incompatible with opening and searching through a briefcase for a document. Simply relying upon documents sitting upon the passenger seat is also not a solution, as the inertial forces encountered during driving will soon turn even the most carefully organized collection into a mess encompassing every corner of the passenger space of the vehicle. The most common method used by sales and business persons to store and retrieve supplies is to keep them in their briefcase or to maintain a "pentaflex" type file system in the trunk or on the floor of the vehicle.
In the past, there have been several attempts in the prior art to provide a vehicular filing system. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,979,098, issued on Apr. 11, 1961, to R. K. Greaves shows a saddle bag for automobiles in which a first bag is draped over one side of the seat and a second bag is draped over another side of the seat. The bag has several compartments which allow for the storage of various items. A central storage area is provided for the accumulation of larger paper items. U.S. Pat. No. 3,014,759, issued on Dec. 26, 1991 to H. A. Bing discloses an automobile utility bag which includes a strap for fastening around a seat or a seat back. A pocket is provided having an overlying flap so that items can be accumulated within the saddle bag. U.S. Pat. No. 3,756,481, issued on Sep. 4, 1973, to R. W. Schaefer provides a carrying case usable for police officers. The carrying case has a plurality of dividers within a rigid box. A frame extends from the box so as to fit over the back of an automobile seat. The box is compartmentalized so that objects and papers can be received therein. U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,241, issued on May 23, 1989, to D. E. Radcliffe describes a vehicle organizer which is designed to be mountably fastened to the passenger seat of a vehicle. An extended vertical container provides a plurality of dividers which allow forms to be easily stowed and retrieved. U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,890, issued on Aug. 21, 1990, to V. K. Schultz discloses a filing, organizing and desk device for placement upon the passenger seat of a vehicle. This invention provides a multiple-shelved filer unit having side walls and a rear wall. A plurality of compartments are arranged in vertical fashion extending from a flat top surface desk top.
A problem with these prior art patents has been the difficulty of easily accessing the various documents that can be retained therein. It is important to be able to adjustably remove and/or add dividers as needed so as to form the filing system. The device should be configured so that papers and materials will remain in their proper position and can be easily viewed by the driver while in motion.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle organizing device which provides a plurality of compartments for the storage of documents.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an organizing device in which the compartments within the device are adaptable to receive a wide variety of different sizes, shapes, and volumes of materials.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a vehicle organizer which can be fastened to a large number of different types of automobile seats.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a vehicle organizing system which is easy to use, simple to manufacture, relatively inexpensive, and simple to install.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.